a tangle of books: what erika read in august and…errm…july

Hello. It’s been something absurd like two months since I showed my face around these parts. Life has been really intense. I went on a 55 miles backpacking trip in the High Sierra and then about two weeks later my beloved grandmother passed away, so my life outside of Book Punks has been full of both physical and emotional challenges. But, I’m back! For now, anyways, until the next fresh calamity arrives.

This brings my 2016 total up to 45, not too shabby! Because this is a reading round-up for TWO months, I am going to choose TWO desert island books, which are Saga (volume 1) and A Tangle of Gold. For those of you who have not read Saga yet, good gracious ass bodacious, do it NOW. I’ve been seeing Nikki not-so-quietly lose her shit over this series for basically all of eternity and I kept shuffling it around my mental to-read list, but it wasn’t until a dear friend loaned me the first volume and then threatened to take it away from me again if I didn’t read it already that I cracked it open and was instantly hooked, transported, mesmerized, etc. etc. etc. It is everything that is good when it comes to visual literacy. The art is amazing, the story is amazing, and both further the narrative like a creative burst of symbiosis. Just, guh. There are so many visual details adding richness to the already incredibly rich and unique story, it’s honestly unlike anything I’ve ever read, and that’s saying something.

A Tangle of Gold is the wonderful conclusion to Jaclyn Moriarty’s whimsical yet poignant Colours of Madeleine trilogy, a speculative fiction feast of parallel worlds and magic and identity and sigh. It’s just so good, and this was an immensely satisfying series finale.

So, that’s it! See you all in a few weeks, and in the meantime, tell me what you’ve been reading. <3

3 Comments

Well that’s the fucking best ever picture to put at the top of one of these posts, my god. Sagaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. *Heart heart heart, starry sparkly eyes.*
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So right now I am reading The Marbury Lens by Andrew Smith! Wooooooot. I have been on a Smith binge since Grasshopper Jungle, and actually just went back and read your reviews ofr GJ and The Alex Crow, which happens to be the only book I read last month. Thoughts on Smith books so far… Grasshopper Jungle is his masterpiece, I would say. 100 Sideways Miles has a few funny moments, but lacks drive and has very little to do with the summary on the back of the book, which always irks the fuck out of me. The Alex Crow manages to be both hilarious (oh my god, all the ways Max describes masturbation, hahahahahahahaha) and really serious and fucked up in a socially conscious way. I’m only about 130 pages into The Marbury Lens, but is lacks any sign of humor and stays on the dark and intense side. Very well done so far, though I am a bit sad about the lack of classis Smith humor. So. Enough Smith fangirling. FOR NOW.

I’ve heard that Marbury Lens is suuuuuuper fucked up. I love that you’ve gone full Smith fangirl on me, and even though I’ve only read those two books by him I would agree (and I think most people would) that Grasshopper Jungle is his masterpiece. Honestly? I think that book will difficult to top, because it’s one of those one-in-a-million types of books. There is nothing else out there like it that I’ve encountered. BUT. I can’t help but wonder, if he does come up with something that can top Grasshopper Jungle, WHAT WILL IT BE???

Exactly! Fans everywhere wait with bated breath…
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And yeah, Marbury Lens is just as fucked up as you’ve heard. I’m not entirely sure I even want to read the sequel, even though yeah of course I totally want to read it. Theoretically. Dark shit. Almost had to put it down cause it was too much.

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